Roasted and Toasted
The picture is a lie: the peanuts you can see above are actually Chili Mole Roasted Peanuts, a recipe that will be found you-know-where when you-know-what’s released.
Confession time again? I used to hate cumin. Thought the stuff smelled like bad, bad BO. Add coriander to the hate-mobile, finding its flavor close to what I imagine soap tastes like.
Fast forward to present days when I am purchasing these two spices in bulk and going through them more quickly than I would ever have thought possible. Proof enough that pretty much any palate has room for growth, but sometimes needs a little more time to get used to new flavors.
Are store-bought jars of Garam Masala as crazy expensive where you live as they are at local supermarkets?
Because I swear that even in less tighten-your-belt-or-else times, there’s nothing that would make me fork out $6 for the tiniest jar of spices. No way.
The following Garam Masala Mix makes about 1 more tablespoon than called for in the peanuts recipe, but if you’re hooked on the stuff as much as I am, you shouldn’t have any trouble making good use of it. Like in the Spicy Chick-Wheat Savory Muffins, a recipe I recently tweaked just a touch by doubling the amount of all spices for extra oomph.
Anyway, dip into that bowl of peanuts, baby. Or sprinkle them on top of your favorite soups and stews. Or throw them at your SO, what do I know?
Garam Masala Roasted Peanuts For the Garam Masala Mix:
2 tablespoons (10 g) ground coriander
3 tablespoons (18 g) ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cardamom or 1 black cardamom pod
1 dried bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon crushed chili pepper
1/4 teaspoon white (or other) peppercorn, optional
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, optional
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmegCombine all ingredients in a coffee grinder. Process until finely ground.
Store in a jar.Yield: 1/4 cup
For the peanuts:
16 ounces (454 g) raw Spanish peanuts
3 tablespoons (18 g) Garam Masala Mix
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, to taste
1 tablespoon (15 ml) peanut or melted coconut oil (add a little extra if the spice mix doesn’t want to stick to the peanuts!)Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C, or gas mark 4). Have a large rimmed baking sheet at the ready.
Directly on the baking sheet, using your hands, combine peanuts, Garam Masala Mix, salt, and oil. Spread peanuts evenly.
Bake for about 16 minutes, stirring once halfway through, until the skin on the nuts has slightly darkened without burning, and that the peanuts have become fragrant.
Let cool before storing.Yield: about 4 cups
VeggieGirl said,
March 26, 2009 at 4:13 am
Roasted, toasted, and incredibly tantalizing.
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Shelby said,
March 26, 2009 at 4:16 am
Amazing.
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Mihl said,
March 26, 2009 at 4:36 am
I couldn’t live without those two spices. Never. And I am the happy almost neighbour (well, it’s a ten minute walk away) of an Indian grocery store, which sells graram masala at a very decent price.
P.S. That is a stunning photo.
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Rosa said,
March 26, 2009 at 4:52 am
I’m addicted to roasted peanuts, especially to the spice kind! Your recipe sounds very promising!
Cheers,
Rosa
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Ricki said,
March 26, 2009 at 5:02 am
Seeing your blog name pop up in my Google Reader just cheers my whole day! And then I come here and find garam masala? Nothing could be better! :)
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Lucy T. said,
March 26, 2009 at 5:15 am
Throw them at your S.O. Ha! Can I also throw them at my cats when they wake me up in the middle of the night?
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Celine Reply:
March 26th, 2009 at 8:10 pm
your cats do that, too? they must have gone to the same school.
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Lucy T. Reply:
March 27th, 2009 at 4:09 am
Oh yeah–they are ridiculously cute, but I am getting to my wit’s end with the 4 a.m. wake-up call. It’s actually just the grey tabby that does it. The orange tabby is naughty in other ways! He enjoys baked goods–I haven’t met many cats who do!
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Celine Reply:
March 27th, 2009 at 4:25 am
oooh. what kind of baked goods? that’s gotta be wickedly annoying. I keep everything away from our cats, because even though they might not necessarily be interested in eating the goods, they’d love to mess it up just to annoy us.
one of the cats actually loves the smell of toothpaste. what the…??
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Lucy T. Reply:
March 28th, 2009 at 11:37 am
The ginger cat, who can get onto or into almost any spot, loves gingery baked goods, funnily enough. He was all over the speeculaas the other day–very annoying. And really almost anything cakey, cookie, or bready. I am bad–I let him eat crumbs.
I was surprised that he didn’t like the cornbread (or muffins, or pancakes, etc.) at all, since he came to us having been fed a diet of Cat Chow (which he loved and now gets only as individual kibble treats now and again). Cat Chow is very corn-based, so why doesn’t he like my skillet cornbread? I was almost insulted!
Signed,
The Crazy Cat Lady
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Celine Reply:
March 29th, 2009 at 5:56 am
looks like there’s a limit to how many times we can reply to a comment? this is odd.
anyway, I don’t blame you for feeling insulted about the lack of love for the cornbread. but if you find it annoying when he tries to eat other stuff, maybe you should start adding corn to everything you make?
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Jes said,
March 26, 2009 at 6:05 am
Garam Masala peanuts?! Awesome! I used to make my own garam masala, but I have a super addicting super cheap spice source here in Atlanta (so good that I’ve made my friends promise that they’d ship me spices when I move). :)
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Carrie said,
March 26, 2009 at 6:07 am
My bf always talks about how cumin smells like BO too. But he likes the taste at least. These peanuts look awesome!
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t said,
March 26, 2009 at 6:30 am
How funny! D. used to be the same — hated cumin, hated cilantro, tolerated coriander (which is the dried spice form of the herb). And funny, suddenly we found ourselves making our own garam masala, and making bulk orders of spices from restaurant supply stores. I have won him over to the dark side! Or something.
These look downright addictive.
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Elyse said,
March 26, 2009 at 6:32 am
OH MY GOSH! These sound amazing. I love all of these wonderful spices that you’ve included. How fabulous. Peanuts are such a “poppable” food already, but I’m sure I couldn’t resist eating the entire bowl of these awesome looking treat. YUM! (P.S. the only “spice” I haven’t come around to is anise. I can take it when it’s just a quiet background flavor, but I can’t stand any licorice taste overall.)
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Celine Reply:
March 26th, 2009 at 8:13 pm
I haven’t tried anise in a long time, but maybe used in the right way, in the right recipe…
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Kelly said,
March 26, 2009 at 6:37 am
That photo is really lovely as always. You should teach food photography on the side and I could be your first student. I do find that spices overall can be pretty pricy, which is why I am SUCH a fan of Penzeys. I love that their spices are more diverse and better in quality than what I have found elsewhere and inexpensive too. I loaded up the last time I was there and even got real wasabi powder.
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Celine Reply:
March 26th, 2009 at 8:14 pm
I need to look into ordering from Penzeys. wasabi powder! I love the wasabi-coated peas they sell at trader joe’s. a great way to take care of those nasty seasonal allergies, for sure.
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Virginia said,
March 26, 2009 at 6:40 am
omgoodness! i thought me and my husband were the only ones that thought cumin smelled like BAD BO! we still do, but we eat it anyway, because it is delicious…but we always joke with each other in the kitchen when we use it…”hey, did u shower today?” hahaha
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Sal said,
March 26, 2009 at 6:47 am
Sounds heavenly.
I used to think the same about cumin but now i freakin love the stuff. I go through loads of it too!
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Shellyfish said,
March 26, 2009 at 6:54 am
Your you know whats are so yummy sounding and that you know what they’re in is one of my favourites! I love g.m. and peanuts, and your bowl, and your picture, and everything about this post!!!
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laci said,
March 26, 2009 at 7:00 am
Would this method work for garbanzo beans? :0
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Celine Reply:
March 26th, 2009 at 8:15 pm
as long as you thoroughly rinse them, pat them dry, and bake them longer (about 45 minutes), I don’t see why not.
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Jackie said,
March 26, 2009 at 7:01 am
I love oven roasted peanuts, they are so much better than the canned/jarred stuff. Way to be savvy with your spices, too.
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Nick said,
March 26, 2009 at 7:33 am
Roasted snacks are hard to beat. Speaking of which, these look perfect for my next trail mix!
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Celine Reply:
March 26th, 2009 at 8:16 pm
I don’t know, I have an easy time beating them with a stick. oh, you mean…
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Lucy T. Reply:
March 27th, 2009 at 4:13 am
Oh hee hee hee! My brother used to say this to me all the time when we were kids…
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allularpunk said,
March 26, 2009 at 7:35 am
peanut fight! thanks for the recipe… i think garam masala is like $5 here (which is still dumb). i have a bottle, but don’t use it often (it’s a little sweet for my tastes…though i love all the stuff in it. maybe my mix is just not so great). anyway, that’s the whole reason i never get to buy saffron. it’s like $15 for about 8 threads of it. what! that’s crazy. i bought it once and i didn’t even like it (but again, it might have been old or something).
thanks for reminding me about those muffins by the way. i really, really need to make those again. with doubled spices, to boot!
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gine said,
March 26, 2009 at 7:36 am
yummy yummy :-)! this is a great shot!
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Ashley said,
March 26, 2009 at 8:48 am
Thank you for the Garam Masala recipe. I love the flavor, but I can’t find it in our local stores. If I had realized how simple it was to make, I would have done so long ago.
Thnaks!!
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melomeals: Vegan For $3.33 a Day said,
March 26, 2009 at 9:02 am
I want to reach into my screen and eat those!
I HATED cilantro until I was 19 years old. (for some reason when I got pregnant, I started to crave it and have loved it ever since.. and both my kids love it and eat it like a vegetable just like me!)
lol about scraping Jack Bauer up off the floor.. I thought that I would if it came to that, but then thought that the germs on the floor would kill him. I’m so glad it didn’t come to that!
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Celine Reply:
March 26th, 2009 at 8:17 pm
isn’t it weird how pregnancy and growing “older” has our palates do a 180?
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Jodye said,
March 26, 2009 at 10:40 am
Mmm I love roasted nuts, and cumin is one of my favorites!
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Afsoon said,
March 26, 2009 at 10:54 am
mmm…looks good. The Afsoon likes :0)
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Bianca- Vegan Crunk said,
March 26, 2009 at 12:01 pm
I love making spiced nuts to keep on my desk at work. And yes, I make my own garam masala too…it’s so easy and much cheaper that way.
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Alisa - Frugal Foodie said,
March 26, 2009 at 12:22 pm
ooh, at last a spiced nut recipe that doesn’t use sugar!
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DaviMack said,
March 26, 2009 at 12:48 pm
I, too, used to think cumin smelled of awful BO. Now … I think that it’s that our taste buds change as we age or something, ’cause it doesn’t smell the same. Sounds yummy!
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Courtney said,
March 26, 2009 at 1:58 pm
Hahaha–Cumin kind of DOES smell like BO, but it is soooooo full of deliciousness I could never hold that against it! Put cumin and coriander on just about anything, and I will eat it :o)
Yay for a post! I always get excited by a new post from you! The garam masala sounds delish–I will make it this weekend for sure!
Courtney
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River (Wing-it Vegan) said,
March 26, 2009 at 2:04 pm
Why must some foods taste like soap?! I have the same issues with cilantro – yuck!
That “you-know-where” and “you-know-what” code is uncrackable! :D
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Celine Reply:
March 26th, 2009 at 8:19 pm
apparently, the like or dislike of cilantro is some genetic trait. or something. I need to google the explanation again, I heard about it on tv not so long ago.
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Ani Reply:
March 27th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
I can’t even walk past cilantro in the store without gagging on the smell of it…but everyone else in my family eats it like candy. A recessive cilantro-hating gene?
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eliane said,
March 26, 2009 at 2:34 pm
I love cumin, and love coriander but I hate cilantro. I cannot understand why people put it everywhere. I’m old already and it still tastes awfully soapy to me.
last time I checked garam masala was around $11, but that’s because we are a third world country and don’t deserve the good stuff.
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Andrea said,
March 26, 2009 at 2:52 pm
If the peanuts are half as good as the photo, I’m ready to make them right now! I love all the spices in garam masala but I can’t stomach anise. Ugh.
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Vaala said,
March 26, 2009 at 4:56 pm
Oh man, they look delicious! I can just see my Dad eating that bowl of peanuts like it was cereal – with a spoon! Okay, okay, I probably would be tempted as well!
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A&N said,
March 26, 2009 at 8:03 pm
They look so good! And the pics are brilliant :)
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Culinary Cory said,
March 27, 2009 at 5:53 am
I love that bowl. It’s got great color!
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Sarena said,
March 27, 2009 at 5:56 am
You are so right about cumin, but I do love it! I could not agree with you more about flavors and getting used to them. I am still trying to work up the nerve to try avocado again. I had some really bad guacamole before (my first experience) and have not tried it again…I guess I should give it a try again!
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Celine Reply:
March 27th, 2009 at 7:38 pm
same for me, but with ’shrooms instead of avocado. my husband is an avo-hater too. it’s a texture thing for him.
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Ani said,
March 27, 2009 at 12:49 pm
Super delicious! I made these and roasted chickpeas with the same garam masala….Mmmmm.
Most of our local stores all have bulk herb-sections so I don’t think I’ve bought a single jar of spices for years – when I was living in Canada last year I had my spices sent up to me from my family because I couldn’t get to the one store that had bulkness, and I simply could not believe the price of jarred spices, especially the ‘ethnic’ ones. Taco seasoning in BC cost me half my wages, I would reckon…
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Celine Reply:
March 27th, 2009 at 7:37 pm
I am making myself take a (mostly) voluntary break from eating beans, but I’m dying to try this with chickpeas too. good to hear it turned out well!
it’s sad that spice jar makers jump at the opportunity to make big bucks with their pre-mixed spices. all the more reason for us to get creative and make our own.
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tahinitoo said,
March 27, 2009 at 2:41 pm
yummy yumm yumm.
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Jesse said,
March 28, 2009 at 1:12 am
Mmmm! Yeah… those roasted nuts would NOT last long if they’re anywhere near me. I can already imagine the spicy smells of the garam masala!!!
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Lisa (Show Me Vegan) said,
March 28, 2009 at 6:00 am
i need to use garam masala more often because i love the aroma! This is a great way to do so.
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Nicole said,
March 30, 2009 at 4:09 am
Celine, I’m always drooling after I visit your blog! Now I’m craving toasty, savory peanuts for breakfast!
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Kevin said,
March 30, 2009 at 9:20 am
Garam masala roasted peanuts sound really good!
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Adriana said,
March 30, 2009 at 3:49 pm
I buy Garam Masala in bulk and it isn’t as expensive.
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Celine Reply:
March 30th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
can’t find it in bulk here. I like the idea of choosing what goes into it, though, so that works out okay.
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Lacey said,
April 1, 2009 at 4:54 am
I must be lucky- at Whole Foods by me, Garam Masala is $1.99 for the jar of their brand.
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Mamafish said,
April 9, 2009 at 5:38 pm
A big THANK YOU for the chocolate bunny! I haven’t tasted it yet, it is sitting next to my birthday tulips on the dining room table. I am amazed by your thoughtfulness, and feel a connection with Shelly’s blogger family for sure. You guys are brilliant. Your card is beautiful. I send you my love. Mamafish (Renee)
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Celine Reply:
April 9th, 2009 at 7:25 pm
Renee!! I am so touched you took the time to come visit me here. thank you for this comment that made my night. I hope you are well, and wish you the very best! xo
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have cake, will travel » Spicy Chick-Wheat Savory Muffins said,
April 12, 2009 at 11:32 pm
[...] 1/2 cups (180 g) white whole-wheat or whole-wheat pastry flour 2 teaspoons ground cumin 2 teaspoons garam masala 1 teaspoon dried crushed chili peppers 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon [...]
manisha said,
November 14, 2009 at 6:11 pm
Try toasting the spices on a comas or a cast iron skillet and cool before grinding. It releases their oils and improves the flavor significantly.
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Spicy Chick-Wheat Savory Muffins « 500 Vegan Recipes said,
December 16, 2009 at 12:57 pm
[...] 1/2 cups (180 g) white whole-wheat or whole-wheat pastry flour 2 teaspoons ground cumin 2 teaspoons garam masala 1 teaspoon dried crushed chili peppers 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon [...]